Omny brings a more personal touch to radio

Omny is an app that wants to put a bit more of your life into the traditional radio experience.

(Screenshot by CBSi)

A traditional radio station gives the listener access to music, news and weather. Omny goes one step further by combining these elements with a personal touch, integrating your music library, Facebook likes and email into one audio stream.

Two of the main issues around traditional music-streaming services are customisation and personalisation of music based on listening habits. Omny attempts to address this by actively learning about your taste.

Based on what you listen to and what you swipe to skip, the app will continue to customise suggestions. Using text-to-voice technology, the app can also read you content such as news, calendar updates and email in your personal radio stream.

However, Omny isn't a pure streaming service per se. It's not like Pandora Radio, either. Instead, it connects with the music-streaming service of your choice to deliver musical content — as long as you have a premium or paid account with Spotify, Rdio or Songl. If you don't have a premium account with any of the aforementioned streaming services, Omny will automatically pull 30-second previews from Songl.

Omny can also connect to your iTunes library to gather listening material. Radio content is provided through selected partners, including the ABC, NPR and BBC.

The app itself is iOS only at the moment, and is a free download for Australian and New Zealand users through the iTunes Store.